Broken Chains takes place in Azerbaijan, Kenya, and Canada. It is a story of escape from abuse, psychological and physical. It is a story of poverty, deceit, dementia, and alcoholism. It is a story of errors in judgment. The daughter suffers because of her mother’s bad choices, yet she ends up making similar bad choices in her own life.
Abuse is a horrible thing, and it does not want to let go of this family of Azeri women.
Silvana’s mother loves her, but things do not work out between the mom and dad. Their divorce takes place in a country where divorced women are not looked upon with kindness. Silvana ends up being raised by her grandmother and grows distant from her mom.
Even though she is determined to escape the vicious cycle the women in her family find themselves trapped in, she marries a man who abuses her. But Silvana is a strong lady. After years of abuse, praying, and soul-searching, she finds the strength to leave this man and go out on her own.
If you’ve been a victim of abuse, psychological and/or physical, this book could be painful for you to read, but the hope that it gives should override that. This book shows how to break those chains.
This book not only shows those who need it that escape from an abusive spouse is possible even when it doesn’t seem to be, it also acquaints you with different cultures and religious beliefs.
Just because you are born into a Muslim family does not make you a Muslim. Just because you are born into a Christian family does not make you a Christian. Who you are is decided by who you follow and what you believe.
I was sent a copy of this powerful book in exchange for an honest review. If you would like your own copy to read, I’ve provided an Amazon link below.
reading book, pixabay
Amazon Link: Broken Chains
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Favorite Sentences:
She felt like a wounded bird trapped in a cage, unable to get out.
“Live your life on the tried, true, and right path but leave mine alone,” said Samed in an infuriated tone, staring vacantly at his friend.
It was interesting for her to see a short, fat woman in a tight nightdress attempting to look severe and slim, but instead looking like an overfed cow long put out to pasture.
New Words Learned:
chayhana – tea room
dolma – a Greek and Turkish delicacy in which ingredients such as rice, meat, and spices are wrapped in vine or cabbage leaves
dovga – yogurt and herb soup
http://flavorsofbaku.com/portfolio-view/dovga/
dushpere – Azerbaijani dumpling soup
https://azcookbook.com/2008/01/26/dumpling-soup-dushbere/
haram – forbidden or proscribed by Islamic law
kufte, AZ Cookbook
kufte – the Azerbaijani word for meatball; jumbo apple-size meatballs cooked in a simple broth with chickpeas and potatoes.
https://azcookbook.com/2014/02/12/kufte-bozbash-or-azerbaijani-meatball-soup/
matriculating – enrolling at a college or university
nard – a tables-style board game for two players in which the playing pieces are moved according to rolls of dice. It is similar to backgammon in that it uses the same board, but it has different initial positions and rules.
penury – extreme poverty; destitution
pilov – the main dish in Uzbek cuisine
https://en.canaan.travel/35-uzbek-pilov
tasbeeh – prayer beads
About the Author:
Emiliya Ahmadova was born in the city of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
When she was just nine years old, she developed a passion for reading, literature, poetry, and foreign languages. In high school, she participated in and won many poetry competitions. Around the age of ten, she began writing poems and short stories in Russian.
Emiliya has diplomas in business management as well as a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in human resources management. She also has international diplomas in the advanced study of the theory and practice of management, administration, business management, communication, hotel operations management, office management and administration, and professional English from the Cambridge International College, in addition to a certificate in novel writing. Emiliya speaks four languages (Azeri, Russian, English, and some Turkish), but her native language is Azeri.
Because of her love for humanity and children, she has started volunteering at a local school and in 2011 became a Cub Scout leader and won a trophy as the first female parent leader. Emiliya likes being around people, adores travel, enjoys playing soccer, and relishes in helping other people.
